


The Constellations Have Nothing on You

by oceanic (jangmun)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Slow Burn, basketball player mark, chaotic valid hyuck, haechan is Whipped, jaehyun needs a hug, johnny best bro, non-traditional soulmate au, slight world building, volleyball player johnny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-12-01 19:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20870600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jangmun/pseuds/oceanic
Summary: Donghyuck didn't have a soulmate. At least, not officially. No marks, no signs, nothing. He was okay with that. He was okay with not having love for himself.Then he meets the boy with stars on his cheeks, the boy in his dreams.





	The Constellations Have Nothing on You

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is the first time I'm posting in forever, but I'm really excited to be posting! I missed being able to post.

Chicago seems like the easy answer out of all of his problems. Sure, it's a foreign country with a language he's only been partially speaking for two years, but it's huge. More people mean more strangers, means less judgement. The pressure to find your soulmate and settle down with them is overshadowed by the constantly moving city, with hundreds of activities and jobs that finding a partner seems like an optional task for extra points in the game

Donghyuck likes the idea a lot. A place where he can be his unmatched self, where he can focus entirely on his studies and not on finding a cute guy (or girl) to date and marry and settle down with. Granted, as everything has a catch, strangers and peers would still have the lingering question, but at least they'd have the decency not to ask those questions, perhaps. Plus, he already has his own tour guide to Chicago.

Of course, he’d never actually feel at home in Chicago. He grew up in the converted Seoul, where society is more oriented in soulmate culture. Sure, he is unmatched, as is about five percent of the city’s population, and he has no true place in the city, he could never up and leave it. Maybe one day he’ll visit Chicago with his host brother.

Speaking of, Johnny is crashed on the couch, snoring softly in the late afternoon heat of late spring after a rather uneventful game of volleyball. His team won—as suspected of a team with no current losses—but it was too easy a victory, as Johnny put it. The other team fumbled with the lack of their best player, who had been injured, and a rookie who still needed practice. The older coming home with a particularly bad attitude only made Donghyuck smile, because at least Johnny had a good time.

Donghyuck shuffles quietly around the kitchen, plucking food from various cabinets and even the fridge to fix a late lunch. His parents won't be home for another hour, and it's not likely they'll bring food with them. So Donghyuck heats up leftovers with very soft motions, and waited patiently by the counter, watching the microwave carefully to open it before it reaches zero. The beeping would surely wake Johnny up, given how shallow his snoring became in the matter of a few minutes.

Donghyuck stabs his fork into the dry pasta noodles, humming to himself a song he'd learned on his guitar a year or two back. Nothing extreme, some K-Pop song Johnny had found interest in and decided to play for him one day. Somehow he remembered the title, and struggled with the strings of his guitar until he had perfected the melody and the words came to him most naturally after that.

He remembers when Johnny first came from Chicago, only three months after his parents signed the host family documents and prepared the house to check off the requirement boxes. He was excited, because he never had a brother. Sure, Mark is his best friend, but a brother who lived in your house as permanent residency is another story.

Donghyuck was nervous to meet him at first, so determined to make a good first impression. Of course, he had nothing to worry about. Anyone who meets him fall in love within the first week— that’s his best charm. Johnny took to him immediately, and soon enough one semester turned into a year, and then another. Donghyuck was a junior when Johnny won his first volleyball nationals. It was the biggest achievement yet, because the opponent had been an undefeated champion. Johnny was even unsure if they’d make it, but they did.

Donghyuck is a senior now, and Johnny is going into his second year of his Master’s program. He played for the official Seoul team, at least the Eastern Seoul division, as a middle blocker. Donghyuck faintly remembers him making the team with Taeyong, a setter who stood several centimeters shorter than him, but packs a lot of punch.

He finishes the leftovers, sticking the bowl in the sink and rinsing it with water briefly. Johnny stirs, though he still seems to be mostly asleep. However, he does say a few words. "Where's my phone?" He asks, sitting up from the cushions and stretching.

Donghyuck pulls the phone from the charger in the kitchen, handing it over with a smile. "I went ahead and got it charging for you," He says, smiling.

He takes a seat on the armrest, watching his brother enter the stupidly long pin code, and then a flash of his home screen before Instagram loads up. Something seems off about the photo, though. So he leans over to rest his chin on Johnny's shoulder, and inquires, "Who is your home screen now?"

Johnny raises an eyebrow, absentmindedly returning to his home screen to let Donghyuck look. It is someone new, a boy with bluish purple hair and a shit ton of piercings in his ear. In the photo he wears glasses that aren’t pushed all the way up the bridge of his nose, and he had a kind smile that make Donghyuck's cheeks flame. "He's pretty."

"He's a dance major at my University."

"You like him?"

Johnny turns his phone off, turning his head slightly to meet Donghyuck's curious gaze. "His name's Ten, from Thailand."

Donghyuck pouts. "That didn't answer my question, Johnny."

"He and I have the same rose on our pinky."

That's right. Johnny has the outline of a thorned rose on his pinky finger, spanning the whole length, with leaves and even red petals. It's hardly noticeable head on, but it's a marking nonetheless. So, Ten has the same one. Meaning they are soulmates. 

Markings come with puberty, earliest around the age of ten, and the latest at fifteen. For years now, the idea of finding a match is ingrained into the heads of children as the end goal. Most would develop one somewhere on their body, and it could be anything. From small shapes like stars or hearts, to more complex designs like roses or whole patterns. Some look like tattoos, others appear as birthmarks or scars.

Donghyuck waited. At ten, he didn’t receive one. Eleven was no luck either. Twelve and thirteen had been a blur, but he clearly remembered not finding a single marking on him, not even a tiny scar or faint shape. At fourteen, he gave up hoping. In Seoul, a soulmate is bound to be around the corner one day, maybe even the day you finally see it.

Some don’t notice them right away, after all.

In the recent light of the past few years, with more celebrities highlighting the importance of unmatched people, society began to change their ideals. Unmatched people are being more accepted, although it is still uncommon for a matched to date.

"Oh."

"We didn't know when we met, or when we had our first date—"

"You two have been  _ dating _ for a while and I didn't know?"

"It's only been three months…"

" _ Three _ ?"

"Mark knew."

Donghyuck scoffs. "I am practically your blood brother, and you choose to keep such a cute boy a secret from me, but tell Mark?

Johnny laughs. "I was gonna tell you sooner, I just… didn't want to hurt you."

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, sliding down the armrest until his butt sat comfortably on the couch cushion. "Didn't want to hurt me? But instead you tell Mark, which only hurts my feelings  _ more  _ because you didn't tell me first." Donghyuck even fakes sniffling to add to the dramatic effect of his words.

Johnny shakes his head, wrapping an arm around Donghyuck. "You're so dramatic."

"Thank you."

Johnny smiles. Donghyuck's thoughts get intrusive. What if Johnny didn't tell him because he and Ten  _ are  _ soulmates, what if he thinks Ten and him won't get along, what if Johnny said something about him to Ten, and Ten didn't seem impressed or happy about him? What if Ten hated unmatched?

Donghyuck whimpers, curling further into Johnny without even realizing they  _ are  _ so close already. The older doesn’t seem bothered, or if he is he doesn’t say anything. Instead, they focus on the turned off TV, and he doesn’t know about Johnny, but Donghyuck certainly imagined his own show in his head. It's a reality show, where the main character is immersed in his police career, and the newbie detective happens to be working under him to gain experience. And the two grow close quickly, except the newbie is matched and the main character isn’t.

He's had this dream a few times, a boy with star shaped freckles creating a galaxy across his cheeks and nose, matched with someone else who has the same set of freckles, but he doesn't care. His love is for the unmatched senior detective. 

If only people were like that in real life.

The door handle jiggles a few times with the sound of keys jangling, and then the door swings open. Donghyuck's mother appears first, carrying a bag of groceries in a mixture of brown paper sacks that balanced on her arms and plastic bags that hung from her fingers like heavy coats hanging on coat hangers. Johnny promptly stands from the couch to offer his strong arms in assistance, and Donghyuck watches with his chin perched against the back of the couch.

Then his father walks in, an older man with grey hairs striping his beard and stern eyes from the years of teaching and stress. He carries a few more bags than Mom, although he has no trouble. His attention turns to Johnny, and he smiled. "I heard you won your game today," he says, deep voice bellowing in the apartment.

"It was a surprisingly easy victory," Johnny replies, pushing paper sacks back on the counter so they wouldn't fall. Mom gets to work shooing him out of the kitchen and putting the groceries where they belonged. "Everyone kind of already knew it would happen like that, though."

Dad shrugs. "How about you, kiddo?"

Donghyuck hums, pretending to think about his day, although nothing interesting happened. He was in the school library studying for as long as his free time could let him, avoiding his history class (with special permission) and glancing at the cute people who sifted through textbooks and novels until they found what they came in for, and left after checking out. During lunch he spent time with Mark, eating in an empty science room that he had the key to. And then he left early to watch his brother practice before his game, even learning how to play a little more competitively.

He had an interest in becoming a player himself, but still undecided on actually going through with it. "It was a day. Nothing special, nothing bad. A day."

"I heard you took a ball to the face during your brother's practice."

Now, that isn’t what happened. He was focused on trying to receive the ball, and had over estimated where it would fall, and instead of correcting himself, he stood there and the ball punched him in the collarbone before bouncing off. So  _ no _ , it was not Donghyuck's face. And instead of letting Donghyuck forget it happened, Johnny had made fun of him for a few minutes until Donghyuck for fed up and threw the ball right at him, and missed.

Clearly Donghyuck isn’t having the best day.

Donghyuck sits up, crossing his arms, and in the most dramatic voice he can, he defends himself. "I did  _ not _ take a ball to the face. My face is perfectly fine."

"Bet your ego is bruised though."

"Johnny!" Donghyuck whines. The aforementioned simply shrugs, popping a few chips into his mouth.

Mom sighs. "What am I going to do with you two?" She glanced at her phone, then spoke again. "Donghyuck, do you know where Mark is?"

Something is wrong.

★

  
  


Donghyuck had Johnny drive him around all the hotspots, including some of the secret ones only the three of them knew about. In his defense, he doesn’t quite know every “Mark hotspot”. Mark still has his secrets, but he figures some of the easy to guess places would be nice to try anyways. Even Johnny seems lost and out of hope.

"You think he'd be at the library?" Johnny asks.

Donghyuck shrugs. "I don't see why. His mom seemed worried."

Mark doesn't disappear for no reason. He has reasons each time. A hiccup in his love life, or a project that he hadn't finished yet that he didn't want his parents to hear about. Donghyuck prides himself in knowing these things about Mark, but now he just feels lost. Johnny stops the car at a diner, turning the key to off and leaning back in his seat. "Have you tried calling him yet?"

"Why did I not think of that?" Donghyuck fishes his phone from his pocket, opening his contacts and clicking on Mark's name.

Why is he nervous?

The phone rings, once, twice, four. He picks up. "Donghyuck!"

Mark definitely sounds different. "Mark! Where the hell are you? Your mom called my mom just to wonder where you went!"

Mark laughs, nervously. Now, Donghyuck is bad at telling emotions through the phone, at least for most everyone. Mark reads like an open book, most scared and dangerous when he avoided questions in the hopes of moving on from the subject. So, Donghyuck thinks about the day they shared. Thinks about anything bad that may have happened, but he can't recall anything unusual. "Mark, where are you?"

Mark sighs through the phone, followed with silence. A long amount of silence for how short their conversation is. He barely asks any questions, and Mark seems exhausted from the interaction. "Mark, just... answer me? I won't judge you."

"Do you remember that old park we used to visit together... where we ran off when we were trying to skip class?”

Donghyuck remembers it fondly. It was there that he met Mark, when he was eight. It was there when they began talking, making small talk and creating the dumbest and shittiest handshake in existence. From there, they learned each others names, and then each other's secrets. Donghyuck only had one at the time, his unmatch status. Mark? Well, Mark had many. Mark  _ has _ many. "Yeah, yeah I remember. Johnny and I will be there soon."

"I'll see you then, I guess."

Donghyuck hangs up with a quick "I love you" and tells Johnny the directions to the old park. It was abandoned sometime three years ago, deemed unsafe and unsightly in favor of a new, more improved park being built only three blocks down from it. The old equipment had begun to rust in the rainy weather and not being cared for, and the walls of the jungle gym had been vandalized by anyone who wanted to stake their claim.

The drive there isn’t long, some ten minutes or so. He should've thought about the place sooner, but he didn't think Mark was this messed up. The radio plays some old song from a few years back, though it is so quiet he barely heard it.

Johnny stops the car in the abandoned parking lot just next to the playground, and Donghyuck is sprinting out of the car before it fully stopped. He finds Mark sitting on the old swings, typing away desperately at his phone. Maybe he's reassuring his mother.

Donghyuck sits next to him, kicking at the old mulch. It took him a few minutes, but then Mark looked up, and in the early moonrise Donghyuck can tell he had been crying, and his eyes were red and far out, but he smiles. "Hey."

"How long have you been out here?

"Ah, about two hours now, I think?" Mark's hands shook as he reached into his jacket, pulling out a small sheet of paper. "You know how I visit the Neo cafe after classes?"

Donghyuck nods, watching his friend carefully. Mark's body language reads small and vulnerable. He reads tired, exhausted, heartbroken. He knows Mark is single— had been for a few years now— but something clearly shook him up. The piece of paper he holds between the space of his index and middle finger is folded, with one edge torn, missing the rest of the notebook sheet it comes from. He seems hesitant to even give it to Donghyuck, but eventually his shaky fingers releases the paper into his palm.

It contains a sentence:  _ We need to talk, Jaehyun. _

"What's this about?" Donghyuck asks, irritation seeping unintentionally into his voice.

Mark leans against the chain of the swing, fiddling with the zipper of his jacket. Once again, Donghyuck knows something is desperately unusual about this. He is small, too small for Mark. His spirit seems distant, far off. Jaehyun isn’t exactly a friend of theirs, and Mark had known him for a while in elementary school when Jaehyun would bully him or tease him. Donghyuck met the guy once, and judging from what background Mark told him, he still is the same asshole from elementary school.

"He's my match."

Donghyuck falters. Mark's sign is relatively hidden, tucked behind the back of his left ear; a small crescent moon. Most of the time his curly hair would cover it, hiding its existence entirely. Donghyuck had only seen it a few times. It interested him one day when he saw the edge peering out from behind his hair. 

"Oh."

"Donghyuck I-- I'm so scared of him. I know we hadn't seen each other since he moved out of town before middle school, but what if... what if he's still the same?" Mark whimpers.

"Well that was what... twelve years ago? Maybe he's changed, Mark." Even Donghyuck, who thought he seemed the same, thinks that maybe Jaehyun’s changed. Twelve years is a long time to realize your flaws, after all.

Mark looks at Donghyuck. "I don't want to feel forced into a relationship with him just because he and I share the same damn moon."

"Then don't force yourself. Maybe you should talk to him, get to know him. It's been forever, after all."

Mark sighs. "I just... dunno."

Donghyuck grabs his hand, interlacing their fingers and grabbing the attention of the older. He smiles, and then slipped the paper back into his hand. Mark smiles too, standing up and pulling the younger with him, wrapping his arms around him softly. The hug is warm, and even though Mark's breath is shaky, he seems stable. "Let's go home, Mark."

Mark nods. "I'm sorry for worrying you, you know? I just... I'm so worried he's gonna be like he was before. And I hate the idea of being forced to talk to someone just because--"

Donghyuck shushes him with a firm finger to his lips. Mark understands, and let himself be dragged back to the car. "How about I come with you to the next time you meet Jaehyun? I'll be your tough macho body guard." He proceeds to puff out his chest, straightening his posture to get that one centimeter above the older.

Mark laughs, shoving Donghyuck slightly. "Be serious, Hyuck. You're being too silly."

"You don't think I could beat his ass if he hurt you?"

"You're like, ten centimeters shorter than him."

"Height hasn't stopped me yet."

Mark rolls his eyes, opening the car door as he reaches it. Donghyuck gets in after, flashing Johnny a quick smile. "I have gathered the stray cat."

Johnny turns around for a second, giving Mark a quick smile. "You alright, kid?"

Mark nods. "Donghyuck helped me out a lot."

Donghyuck beams. “Sure did.”  _ Anything for a best friend. _ "Can you... take me home, Johnny? I don't want to, but my mom is already expecting me."

Johnny turns the radio up, and heads to Mark's house. From the mirror, Donghyuck watches Mark's face light up with the screen of his phone, and he could tell he is still texting. He wonders if maybe he is talking to Jaehyun, seeing as the phone number is written on the torn sheet of paper.

But that also doesn’t seem like Mark, given his reaction to the whole match thing in the first place.

Donghyuck leans against the window, zoning off to his mind movies again. This time, it's just a boy, sitting alone by the beach, hands covered in sand and feet being washed by the shorewater. His hair moves with the wind, blond in some streaks and brown in others. He seems peaceful, being alone and watching the sunset in the horizon. When he turns around, Donghyuck saw the freckles once again, star shaped and sporadic, and when the boy smiles, Donghyuck felt his heart race.

He opens his eyes to Mark's driveway. The older hops out of the car quickly, waving a quick goodbye after a quick thank you, and heads inside the front door. Donghyuck feels happy for him, that he might have a chance with a match, that he might finally get the love he deserved. Johnny too. Everyone around him had started finding love, all around the same age. A phenomenon, they call it. Where matches would stumble into each other in weird ways, or find each other on purpose, where high school relationships become serious and love isn't just for children.

Donghyuck wipes off his cheeks, drying his hand off in his shirt. The radio plays a newer release now, this time loud enough to deafen any previous thoughts he has. The lyrics are about something happy, something cute and relaxing. He hates it. He hates the looming thought that he might never find himself happiness, that he might never get to feel the same excited feeling that matches felt.

Johnny rests a hand on his knee. "You're overthinking, aren't you?"

Donghyuck laughs. "You have a weird way of knowing, don't you?" Johnny always knows when he’s sad, or happy, or whenever his mood changes in general.

"You're crying."

Oh. His thumb reaches his cheek, and the texture is unmistakable. So he is.

★

Donghyuck goes with Mark to his inevitable meeting with the one and only Jaehyun. Although, he observes quietly from a back table, he is still in the cafe with Mark, which seems to ease him. Jaehyun certainly changed. He grew taller, his shoulders broadened. His hair is lightened and parted with a left favor. He looks like a god, even if he wears only a simple hoodie and sweats. Despite being late spring, the weather outside is cold.

Even Donghyuck pulled a sweater on when he woke up.

Mark and Jaehyun shake hands awkwardly, and sit down at the table to discuss.  _ Looks like some business meeting, not a  _ discussion of the future  _ meeting.  _ Meanwhile, Donghyuck pulls out his laptop to focus on schoolwork, which is only a subplan to make it look as if he is only busy, not spying. He digs his fork into the slice of pie he ordered, chewing on the prongs well after he pulls the food off them.

He is worried. Worried for Mark, who's small frail image from last night still burns in Donghyuck's memory. His red swollen eyes and sniffles and shaky breath could still be seen and heard to Donghyuck, so terrifying and quiet, yet when they repeat they got louder and drown out everything else. Donghyuck didn’t know Mark when he was younger, so he had no idea the extent Jaehyun had gone, only the stories Mark told when they stayed up at three in the morning on nights over.

He faintly hears Mark's laughter, subtle and enjoyable. When he looks up, he saw his smile, warm and inviting. His worries are gone now, Jaehyun is different. Twelve years (or so) different, even. So maybe his initial impression during the passerby meeting of three-years-ago Jaehyun is a little wrong, too. It makes Donghyuck hopeful.

He thinks about Johnny and Ten, excitement bubbling in the idea of Johnny settling down finally. Maybe Mark would find that too. Even if they are both high school students, their journey as such was over in a short while. Maybe another six weeks, if he remembers correctly. Donghyuck is excited to graduate, can’t wait for the summer. He'd already been accepted to college on a dance major, thanks to years of competitive dancing. Maybe he'd pick up volleyball over the summer, and try out for the college team like his brother.

The bell of the cafe rings, and Donghyuck's head snaps up. The new patron wears a pink shirt tucked into light colored, ripped jeans, and a black cap that shaded his face and mostly covered brown hair. He walks slow, straight postured and lightly. His footsteps are quiet, save for the heel of his boot clicking on the hardwood every few steps.

Donghyuck hides his face behind his hand, tearing his eyes away from the new kid in favor of awkwardly staring out the window. He wouldn’t be found dead admitting to eavesdropping, but the boy's voice sounded deeper than what he imagined. It is cute.

He rubs his face a few times, as if he could remove the head burning his cheeks with such a gesture. His laptop turns off, falling asleep from an obvious lack of inactivity. So he turns it back on hastily

He eyes fall on the cake beside his laptop, and he shoves down another rather large bite, hoping that chewing would distract him from the boy who walked to the booth in front of him, holding a coffee and a laptop case he hadn't seen before. And when Donghyuck finally catches a glimpse of his face, all hope of forgetting his entire pretty existence.

He has star shaped freckles, sporadic and when the boy smiles, it is like the waves crashing onto the shore, wetting the sand and pulling back with it foamy white water and leaving behind shells.

It is literally the boy of his dreams.

Mark had been going on dates Jaehyun for a few weeks now, each time going on a different date than the last. It is cute, seeing how Mark uses his newfound free time to spend time with someone he might have a future with

Donghyuck keeps thinking about the boy with star shaped freckles on his cheeks. He hasn’t seen him since the one day, but his false dreams became constant. Just him, just his face, sometimes. He'd see him during class or in his room, where he'd least expect a cute boy to be. Others they'd be kissing, soft and tranquil, hardly there.

He wants to see him again.

Donghyuck sighs, rolling over in his bed in obvious annoyance. Once again he is cursed by the stupid world to not have love or even the slightest chance of it.  _ Yeah, universe, show me the boy of my dreams and then curse me to never see him again. Real clever _ .

Jokes on the universe, he is used to this abuse. He could conjure up hundreds of real boys or girls and each would be gone within a week. But the star freckled boy refuses to leave. It is an illness, how often and how unruly he is. The rules that Donghyuck makes for his fictional boys and girls, or dream boys are broken entirely by this one.

What a sick and twisted way of giving him false hope.

"Donghyuck? Are you still sulking?" Johnny asks through the door, knocking on his softly.

Donghyuck groans, pulling his blanket up until it completely covers his face. He has no idea what the time is, not that he really cares. Maybe he could just die on the bed. "Donghyuck you can't die in bed."

Donghyuck whines, forcing himself up and out of bed. With heavy feet he stalks to his door and pulls limply on the handle until it detached from the jam and reveals Johnny standing before the door. He holds up his phone, and when Donghyuck's eyes finally focused on the text before him, he turned wide eyed and stared up at his brother. "Are you serious?" Donghyuck asks.

Johnny nods, closing his phone and shoving it into his pocket. "Ten's coming back from Thailand today to stay here for a few weeks."

"Mom and Dad are okay with that?" Donghyuck asks. "Like, with him staying here?"

"Asked before I told him he could. Now, get yourself ready and put on your glasses."

Donghyuck is going blind. Not that he is surprised, both of his parents wear glasses too. He doesn’t have as bad as them, yet. Still, he needs them, and his last visit had solidified that. He is still adjusting to them, and most days Johnny had to remind him to wear them.

He groans, shutting the door in his brother's face and turned to angrily squint at the newest pair of glasses on the nightstand. Basic frames, slightly basic prescription, completely boring and they added nothing to his overall appearance.

He had contacts coming in soon for when he danced.

Donghyuck grabs a shirt and jeans from his closet and dresses quickly, fixing his hair in the mirror and this time not forgetting his glasses. He hurries with his shoes and follows Johnny out the door. “So, how did you two meet again?” Donghyuck asks, shooting a quick text to Mark.

Johnny hums, turning on the car. “We don’t really remember.”

That’s right. “He says we bumped into each other after a late volley practice, because he had been watching us and wanted to compliment the team. I don’t remember that, honestly.”

“You just have a shitty memory.”

“Touche.”

Johnny laughs, and Donghyuck laughs with him. The rest of the drive to the airport is small talk, about nothing in particular and yet everything in particular. From who noticed the match first to who confessed first, Donghyuck learns piece by piece the relationship his non-blood brother has with a certain Thai dancer.

“So his plane hasn’t landed just yet, but we’ll be there waiting for him. He doesn’t know I brought you.”

Donghyuck smiles. So this is a surprise for both of them. Once he parks the car, Johnny hops out in what is obvious excitement, and Donghyuck joins him quickly. He holds a folded sign that would welcome Ten back. Donghyuck remembers watching him spend all night making it, how he spent a stupid amount of time perfecting the bubble letters and coloring just to fold it up and only have it be used once.

His brother is an interesting one, that is for sure.

The wait in the airport isn’t as long as Donghyuck anticipates. Ten’s plane landed only ten minutes after they arrive, and he is walking out of the terminal another ten minutes later. Talk about coincidence.

The dancer is smaller than Donghyuck figured, and his hair color had changed to something more natural, a wave texture makes it appear shorter than it is, and when he gets closer, Donghyuck saw a significant lack of piercings. Maybe he’d taken a few out over the months, or he just didn’t feel like putting any in. Ten, upon spotting Johnny and by extension, Donghyuck, runs the rest of the distance, throwing himself into the taller man’s arms.

Johnny catches him with ease, spinning him around to get rid of the extra energy, sharing a few quick kisses with the younger. It is cute to see, just how happy Johnny is with him, how happy Ten is with Johnny. The two really belong together, and when Donghyuck glanced at Ten’s hands, he could faintly see the rose pattern on his pinky, just like Johnny’s.

“I missed you.”

Johnny presses another light peck to Ten’s lips, returning the endearment. “Oh, Ten! This is Donghyuck, my host parents son.”

“And brother!” Donghyuck adds, holding out his hand. “Thanks for finally noticing my poor existence.”

Ten grabs it and shakes it firmly, but then surprises the younger by pulling him into a hug. “I’ve heard so much about you. You’re even cuter in person.”

Donghyuck pouts, and opens his mouth to retort, but his eyes land on another person in the airport. A very familiar boy with star shaped freckles and a black cap stands with another person, presumably a friend of his. He has no intention of staring at him, but his broad shoulders are highlighted by the white shirt he wore, tucked into simple dark colored jeans. And the worst thing happens.

They share eye contact.

Donghyuck flushes, hiding behind Johnny almost instantly, alerting the attention of both him, and Ten. “Donghyuck? What’s wrong?”

“It’s him.”

“Who?” Ten asks, turning around to look where Donghyuck is once staring.

Johnny laughs, ruffling Donghyuck’s hair. “The boy of your dreams, isn’t it?”

Donghyuck nods. “He looked at me.” He sounds absolutely pathetic. Maybe he is.

Johnny scoffs. “Maybe you should go… talk to him?”

“What am I supposed to say? ‘Hi I see you a lot in my false dreams, do you want to talk’?”

“Exactly.”   


“No!” Donghyuck whines, refusing to move from his semi-permanent spot in Johnny’s side. “What if he finds me absolutely weird?”

Ten rolls his eyes. “You’re already weird. Just go talk to him.”

It hurts more coming from someone that supposedly knows very little about Donghyuck. He spares a few seconds of hiding to glare at Ten, who seems about as unbothered by the onset of daggers his direction as he could be.

“You’ve met him before, right?”

“Yeah? But that doesn’t—”

“Oh, he’s walking over.”

“ _ What? _ ” Donghyuck peers out from Johnny’s side again, and sure enough, the boy is walking over.

Donghyuck yelps at the sudden change of view. Johnny had pushed him out of his side, and to the front of their small circle. His mind runs a million thoughts a second, each one only a slight variation from the last. What if he is gonna tell him to stop staring, or what if he isn’t even coming over to see him in the first place?

All of that changes when the boy stopped in front of him, hip jutting out on one side. He smiles, and god Donghyuck isn’t even sure it was possible to be whipped for someone you’ve only seen in your dreams and know nothing about. Looking at him closer, the star shaped freckles appear almost like a darker, faded version of his already honey skin tone. “You were the boy from the cafe a few weeks ago, weren’t you?” He asks.

Donghyuck gives him a pathetic nod. “You remembered me?”

The boy laughs and  _ oh god _ , he is the physical embodiment of a lovable Disney prince. “Sure I do, you got flustered when I walked in and tried to act like you weren’t staring at me.”

Oh what a perfect first impression to make on someone. Good job, Lee Donghyuck. “I’m so sorry, oh my god.”

“Don’t be.” He held out his hand. “The name’s Jaemin.”

Donghyuck shakes his hand cautiously, only acutely aware of the now three people staring at them, probably judging their interaction with amusement and concern for Donghyuck’s well-being. “Donghyuck.”

“Will you be at the cafe next week? Maybe like to meet up?”

Donghyuck nods. “S-Sure, if you want to.”

“Noon on Thursday sound good?”

“I’ll be there.”

Jaemin smiles again. “Awesome! I’ll see you then. Bye-bye, Donghyuck!”

He jogs off to catch up with his friend, and the two walk away. But not before Jaemin gives him a final wave goodbye. Donghyuck stands where he is for a good, long minute, just processing what happened. The literal boy of his false dreams— _ no he has a name now _ —Jaemin had met him in the airport lobby, where he’d been waiting for his brother’s boyfriend, and asked him to meet up at the cafe they first saw each other.

What a cruel joke. It’s a fairytale soulmate story, but the reality is, Donghyuck is unmatched, and Jaemin’s star shaped freckles matched someone else’s in the world. He only prays that the feelings that swell in him would be squashed somehow. From either Jaemin telling him he wouldn’t be interested, or some other, possibly more dramatic reality. Maybe he could just disappear, and this whole situation would be over.

But he doesn’t really want that.

  
  


★

Thursday comes by sooner than Donghyuck expects. He’d spent a short time with Mark over the week, who’d been caught up in tryouts for the college basketball team, although he got put into the varsity team upon the second day. Unsurprising, since he received a scholarship for his highschool skills. He and Jaehyun are still just friends, but Mark can’t lie about the feelings he knows he is getting. It is cute, watching his normally level headed best friend crumble under the weight of his own feelings.

When Donghyuck told him about Jaemin, Mark initially didn’t believe him, and thought he’d been talking about another one of his false dreams. But after Donghyuck repeats the story (and Johnny confirming it happened, pulling his attention away from Ten for only those short moments), Mark finally realizes he was telling the truth.

It is eleven forty-six. He could be at the cafe by noon if he gets out the door in four minutes and walks fast. He doesn’t plan on being late, he just forgot he even agreed to the date. Of course, it is Johnny who once again reminded him that he, in fact, had somewhere to go.

He shoves his glasses onto his face, ties his shoes and runs out the door with his keys jangling in between his fingers. His phone is in his back pocket, and music isn’t an option. He hurries down to the cafe, praying that even if he is late, Jaemin wouldn’t mind.

Jaemin.

Donghyuck would have never pinned him to be a Jaemin. It is such a cute name, and Donghyuck finds himself mumbling it over and over again, more ashemedly than proudly. He still can’t live down the most embarrassing first impression he’s ever made.  _ You got flustered when I walked in and tried to act like you weren’t staring at me. _ How embarrassing; what a way to remember someone.

Donghyuck makes it into the door at 12:01.

Jaemin is still in the line, and two others were before him. So, Donghyuck catches up with him, reaching out to tap him on the shoulder. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I forgot.”

_ Way to go Donghyuck, make it seem like you don’t care by telling him exactly why you’re out of breath. _

Jaemin waves his worrying away, flashing him a quick smile. Without a hat, Jaemin styles his hair to part with a favor to the right, blond streaks even brighter than they were when they first met. He looks so princely that Donghyuck is almost certain he could land a role acting as one. “No worries. It was only a minute.”

“Yeah, but I don’t like being late.”

Ironic, because he is late to so, so many things; school, his own birthday party last year— to name a few. Maybe he just doesn’t want to disappoint Jaemin. “Ah, it’s fine. I’m usually late to things, too.”

They order together after Jaemin insists that he would pay, despite Donghyuck insisting he doesn’t have to. He finds it endearing, how they don’t know each other at all, but yet they already act like they’ve known each other for ages. Jaemin leads Donghyuck to the booth, sitting across from him. 

“You know, when I saw you here the first time, I thought nothing of it. But then, I couldn’t stop thinking about you? Like… it was weird.” Jaemin closes his eyes, and when he reopens them, he is facing the window. “I didn’t know you, but I felt like I knew you.”

Donghyuck bites his lip, glancing down at the drink in front of him. “Well, I don’t think it’s weird.”

Jaemin’s head snaps back to him. “Really?"

“The whole reason I even looked at you was… It’s kinda funny. I’ve…” Donghyuck never realized how nerve wracking it is. Jaemin is watching him with soft eyes, but still the gaze is intense. “I’ve had dreams about you, before.”

“Really?”

It feels like a relief, getting the obvious elephant off his chest. He spent the whole week just trying to figure out how to tell him, or how to avoid it altogether. Countless scenarios ran through his mind, usually ending in Jaemin leaving in one way or another. He is glad that none of those were the reality. “Yeah… false dreams? I— I’m unmatched.”

Jaemin’s eyes widen, but only for a moment. Then, he smiles.

Donghyuck can’t read him, not like he could read Johnny or Mark. Jaemin has an aura to him that he’s never experienced before, something about him is just… intriguing. “That’s so cool?”

“Seriously?”

Jaemin changes how he is sitting, resting both elbows on the table, pointing at his face. Or, his freckles, that makes more sense. “You see these?” And when Donghyuck nods he continues, “I had a test done when I was sixteen to see if I could pinpoint where my soulmate was. They gave me an answer that I wasn’t pleased with.”

“Where are they?”

He’s only heard of the tests. Johnny never took one, and Mark had no real interest in finding them yet. His parents hadn’t done it either. But some people had matches outside of their home country, and searching for them was sometimes their only option, so tests were conducted to help. From what he remembers in class, they take a sample of your mark and used its biology to pinpoint where there was another match. Only it takes a while for results, months, sometimes years. Your soulmate would have to be looking for you, too; it is the only way the system could match them.

“Halfway across the ocean, in America. I— I’ve never had an interest to find them.” Jaemin shrugs. It’s when Jaemin turns his cheek that Donghyuck can see the slight discoloration in his skin. It’s probably where they took the sample, somewhere not directly obvious and only as big as it needs to be. “Why should I, you know? We wouldn’t speak the same language, and the time difference is insane and I don’t want to leave Seoul, at least not for a stranger.”

Donghyuck hums. “Isn’t it sad though? Not getting to match with who you’re meant to.”

Jaemin shakes his head. “You remember the guy I was with at the airport?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s from China. Where he lives, about 19% of the population is unmatched, including himself.”

Oh.

In Seoul, it is an average of ten percent of people who would be unmatched and have no mark by the time they turned eighteen. It is a statistic Donghyuck grew close to and very familiar with. He knew it is higher in other parts of the world, like in Chicago, where it is 22% unmatched.

“That’s why I didn’t freak out when you said that. Being unmatched, and having false dreams. Injoon has them too, although not of me. At least, not that’s told me.”

Donghyuck feels happier, somehow, that he isn’t the only one Jaemin knew.

The reality that this is actually happening doesn’t exactly settle in. He knows— at least on the surface— that Donghyuck scored a day with the boy of his dreams. The knowledge that this is happening isn’t there; instead, it all feels like a dream.

The conversation shifts from markings to academics to childhood. Donghyuck lets it slip that he as spying on his friend the day they first saw each other in the cafe, and then when Jaemin asks him to elaborate, Donghyuck obliges.

“No way,” Jaemin snorts.

“No! I’m being serious!” Donghyuck replied.

“What kind of movie is that? Being bullied in elementary school only to find out ten years later that he’s the man puberty fated you with?” Jaemin covers his mouth to hide his laugh.

Donghyuck doesn’t want him to hide it, because it is a warming laugh. He feels safe around Jaemin, a different kind of safe, and certainly an alarming amount of safe for not knowing Jaemin longer than a few hours. Sure, he’s seen him about a dozen times in his dreams, but that Jaemin is different. He isn’t real, didn’t speak or make his heart flutter, not like the real Jaemin.

“They actually started talking because Jaehyun noticed it, and he told Mark that he didn’t want him to feel like he was obligated to.”

“Huh.”

“Apparently puberty turned him from a punk to a bad boy with a heart of gold. He’s got some struggles though.”

Jaemin hums. “Struggles?”

“Ah, apparently he dropped out of high school when he was sixteen, been in and out of recovery for a couple years. He moved back here for the Seoul recovery program, and once he’s done here, he’s apparently moving back to Canada.”

Jaemin doesn’t ask what kind of recovery he is going through, and Donghyuck is glad, because he doesn’t quite know either. He worries for his friend, sure, but Jaehyun seems more worried about not screwing up his second chance with Mark. Maybe he’ll be a good influence for Jaehyun.

“Did you just graduate?”

Jaemin nods. “Headed to Seoul Uni on a partial for my grades.”

He smiles. “I’m going there too, actually. Mark has a full right for basketball. I got partial for my grades, too. Thinking of joining the men’s volleyball team.”

“Any specific reason?”

“My brother—we’re a host family—is the middle blocker on the varsity team. I’ve helped him practice ever since he moved here.”

“I didn’t know you were a host family.”

“Johnny’s parents can’t exactly afford to send him here every year, so they opted for the program his first year into college. He’s been here for about six years now.”

“That’s really cool that you could do that for him.”

“I didn’t even know until the week before he was scheduled to fly up from Chicago.”

If Jaemin were a cartoon character, his eyes probably would have been animated with stars in his pupils. He looks absolutely enthralled by the mention of Chicago. “He’s from America?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s even cooler!”

Jaemin’s smile is addicting. Just the smallest upturn of his lips made Donghyuck smile too, and even his laugh is contagious. There’s no way Jaemin would get any better. “Oh. It’s raining.”

Donghyuck looks outside the window and sure enough, it is in fact, raining. He groans, rubbing his hands down his face in annoyance. “I walked here, I don’t wanna walk  _ in  _ the rain.”

“We could stay here a little longer, maybe wait out the storm?”

“It’s boring here, I’m tired of the shitty music.”

Jaemin hums, pulling out a set of car keys from his pocket. “Well, I drove here. Do you want me to drive you home?”

Donghyuck glances at the time on his phone, frowning. “Yeah, I should get home. Looks like Johnny’s practice got rained in and he wanted to spend the day with me and Ten, doing a kind of game night.”

Jaemin smiles, reaching next to him to hand Donghyuck his jacket. When Donghyuck opens his mouth to ask, Jaemin interrupts him. “You don’t have a jacket on, and you’re gonna get soaked in this downpour. Just wear it.”

He doesn’t protest, slipping his arms through the fabric and noted the faint scent of cologne. Though, now Jaemin is the one jacket-less and his argument could be reused as a way to give it back. Donghyuck doesn’t bother, though. “Okay. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Jaemin holds the door open for Donghyuck, who walks out as he put on the hood of the jacket. He shoots a quick text to his brother, and after guidance, slips into Jaemin’s car.

Today is a good day.

★

It hasn’t even been five days since the hangout, and Donghyuck is missing Jaemin more than he’s missed anyone. He is in the middle of practice with Johnny when the thought strikes him. Sure, him and Jaemin keep a decently regular texting pattern, but nothing compares to seeing Jaemin’s smile in person. Donghyuck went as far as to save Jaemin’s contact in his phone as  _ Prince _ .

He never had it this bad for someone. There is just  _ something _ about Jaemin. Donghyuck knows to keep his hopes from going too high, because at some point, he’ll deal with the heartbreak of another person who didn’t quite share the same feelings as he does for them. That doesn’t stop him from missing Jaemin, and that doesn’t stop him from having dreams about him, or missing his company. So, during the break Johnny scheduled, he sprints to his phone, and calls Jaemin.

“Hello?”

“Hey, I’m not interrupting anything… am I?”

“Nah. What’s wrong, Hyuck?”

Jaemin sounds like he had just woken up, but maybe he is just sparing Donghyuck’s feelings. He still feels bad for even knowing there is a possibility he woke him up, and hesitates to even answer his question. He is about to just apologize and hang up. Jaemin beats him to it. “Hyuck, it’s fine, I should be up anyways. It’s half past noon.”

He  _ was _ sleeping.

“I missed you,” Donghyuck says quietly.

If he bothered to care enough, he’d probably be ashamed at how small he sounds. He barely knows Jaemin, yet here he is, missing him. He could hear Jaemin’s laugh through the phone, breathy, small. God, he feels bad. “Do you want me to come pick you up?”

“Ah, I’m practicing with Johnny right now— you should come watch.”

“Do you want me to be your personal cheerleader? ‘Woo! Hyuck look at you, so amazing!’” He interrupts himself with a few short giggles, and Donghyuck giggles too.

“Sure, but you gotta come with the cheerleader uniform too. A short skirt and crop top—oh!—and the pom poms!

Jaemin is laughing now, and Donghyuck can only imagine his wide smile, the way the little stars would stretch across his cheeks when he did. “I’ll be there soon. Text me the address.”

“Maybe I can teach you how to play.”

“Maybe. Bye-bye.”

He waits until Jaemin hung up, and then waits another thirty seconds to make it seem as though he hasn’t been waiting to text him the address. Maybe he is a little too excited to see Jaemin, and maybe he doesn’t care. It is Jaemin.

It had been two minutes and Johnny still hasn’t returned from the bathroom, and Donghyuck wonders if Johnny is doing more than just using the bathroom. He tried not to think about it too much, but the thought couldn’t be helped. Ten was still asleep when they left, and they’d been practicing for two hours now, so there’s a chance he is awake and rummaging around their cabinets and fridge for a late breakfast.

Donghyuck’s stomach not so coincidentally groans at the thought of food. Only another hour of practice, that’s all Johnny had planned. He has a busy day ahead of him, from a team varsity team meeting to a photography gig just before dinner, and then a secret night out with Ten, where he would take him to dinner and then show him the brand new apartment he just signed a lease to.

Johnny had been working a lot recently, balancing a job and daily team practices, as well as spending needed time with Ten and helping Donghyuck with the transition from high school to college. It is a lot to balance, but Donghyuck is confident that he knows what he is doing. Besides, it is about time Johnny completely moved out to live on his own, seeing as he just recently received his citizenship.

The older man returns from the bathroom a minute later, towel draped over his shoulder and an almost terrifying grin on his safe. A shit-eating grin. Something is up. “What on Earth is that grin for?” Donghyuck aks, taking another drink of his water bottle.

Johnny shrugs, crouching to meet Donghyuck at eye level. “Ten woke up.”

“Well I kinda figured that. It’s noon after all..."

“He can’t wait for me to get back and spend time with me before I head out to the team meet.”

“You gonna tell him then, or after dinner?”

“Dinner.”

Donghyuck hums, setting his water bottle down next to him, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Did you invite your new friend to come watch you practice for the last hour?”

He whines because he doesn’t think he is  _ that  _ obvious. There is no way he is that obvious, right? “Just for the last hour.”

“So I finally get to properly meet this friend. What did you say his name way? Jimin?”

“ _ Jae _ min, you idiot,” Donghyuck smacks him with his sweat towel, rolling his eyes. “I only wanted him to come over so we can hang out later…”

“You said you missed him.”

“You were  _ spying  _ on me?” He glares at Johnny

He raises his arms in the air, in obvious mock surrender. Donghyuck doesn’t find it funny. “You were loud, you know. The gym echoes, too. You wanted him to come dressed as a cheerleader?”

“Johnny oh my god, shut up.”

“I didn’t think you’d be the type for roleplay.”

“Johnny I will actually fi—” His phone pings.

_ I’m here. _ “I’ll have to fight you later, Jaemin’s here.”

Donghyuck gets up and tosses his phone into his bag, not so subtly skipping over to the gym entrance to let Jaemin in, and when he opens the door, he is more than excited. Jaemin looks— good to say the least. He’s even prepared in wearing shorts and a loose shirt, but dammit it just had to be a  _ white  _ shirt, huh. Donghyuck swallows a whine, smiling. “Hey, you look ready to play.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to teach me?” He winks.

_ Oh god.  _ Donghyuck is gonna die in this gym, and it was gonna be at the fault of… He realized. He doesn’t know Jaemin’s last name. “Wait… what’s your last name?”

“Na. Na Jaemin.”

Na Jaemin is gonna be the cause of his death. Johnny comes over to join them, holding out his hand “It’s nice to properly meet you, Jaemin. I’m Johnny.”

“So you’re the Johnny I’ve heard so much about.”

“You talk about me?”

“Only good things!” Donghyuck waves his hands dismissively. “I swear it’s never been something bad.”

“Come on, kid. We’re gonna show you how to play.” Johnny walks back to the court.

“I’m scared,” Jaemin replies, low enough that only Donghyuck heard.

“Don’t be. He only plays at sixty percent of his ability when he’s practicing.”

“ _ Only? _ ” 

Sixty is nothing. Donghyuck had practice with him at seventy-five, which is a nightmare and he doesn’t envy the opposite team when Johnny competes. In fact, he prays for them. All considering Johnny  _ had _ injured someone before, but he had injured himself before too. Jaemin had it coming for him, Donghyuck figures.

★

It is his birthday. He forgot all about until until Johnny and his parents burst through his bedroom door singing to him and holding a cake on a faulty looking box. He is sure that just maybe they would drop the cake if they weren't careful. Thankfully he blows out the candles after a silent wish in his head that for just today he could focus on being happy, and just on his big, eighteenth birthday surprise party.

Oh yeah. Donghyuck doesn’t know what his family planned for him. Ten and Johnny, who are in the process of moving Johnny's things to his (their) new apartment, wouldn't even give him a hint and asking his parents only results in them ignoring his question. He hates surprises, but apparently his family didn't care about what he hates.

Donghyuck is so wrapped in getting dressed for an eventful day out, he forgets to text Jaemin and tell him he is busy. The idea of birthdays never crossed their conversations, although he would like to know for the sake of giving him a special gift. He'll have to ask later.

Donghyuck tugs on his new heeled boots (a gift he had asked for and Ten is more than happy to spend the money on), and for once remembers his glasses before he leaves his room. Johnny pulls him in for a hug. "My little bro is all grown up and eighteen now," Johnny fake cries.

Ten rolls his eyes. "You're literally a child, Johnny."

"Let me be emotional in peace."

Ten raises his hands in defense, and then they are off. To help keep the surprise just that, Johnny hands Donghyuck a face mask and told him to sit in the backseat with dad and Ten. (Ten only grumbled slightly about being forced into the back.)

Donghyuck obliges, although riding in a car with no sight made for an interesting set of ideas to be born. The thought of being kidnapped only briefly crosses his mind, set away for favor of feeling the bumpiness of the road trip to guide his mindset. He plays a guessing game.

He prides himself in knowing Seoul rather well, mostly from his own house and the schools he is and would be in. Mark's house is a left, straight, right, straight, into a curve, and then another left, for example. He isn’t as inept to the backroads however, which he is sure Johnny took to throw him off.

Johnny did mention Mark and Jaehyun would meet them there. That is another hint. It is a group event, which excites Donghyuck even more. The idea of participating in something competitive is thrilling. He could finally beat Johnny's ass in something other than Monopoly.

The car slows down until it reached a stop, and then the engine is killed. Donghyuck figures they parked, moving to take his mask off. "Nope. Not yet," his mother says, grabbing his hands and setting them in his lap. "You'll find out in a minute."

"This is unfair. I'm gonna fall on my face if you make me walk out like this."

"That would be entertaining," comes Mark's voice, as a hand circled his wrist and pulls him from the car.

"Mark?"

"We got here early."

"You can take it off now."

Donghyuck rips the mask off, letting his eyes adjust to the bright sunlight before shoving his now sun-tinted glasses back on. Oh. "Bowling?" Donghyuck nearly shrieks.

Apparently, his gang of friends and family had no idea if the reaction is a good one, because all of them glance at each other in unease. Donghyuck decides to elaborate for them. "I've been wanting to do a group bowling competition for ages!"

Johnny smiles. "See I knew he would be excited."

Donghyuck turns his attention to Jaehyun, which seems to have startled the older. "You must be Jaehyun."

"And you're Donghyuck. Mark talks about you a lot."

Mark looks off into the distance, hiding an obvious embarrassment that makes Jaehyun laugh a little. "I got a free day today, so Mark dragged me out."

"It's gonna be fun."

"Pizza and drinks and stuff is on me," Ten says, winking at Johnny. "Save your wallet a little bit, you just moved."

Johnny grabs Ten's hand, and the group headed inside the bowling alley. Each take their turns getting shoe sizes and ball weight, and gather in the booth that coupled two lanes. There are thankfully enough slots in the scorecard for everyone, and names are chosen by Donghyuck, which he finds joy in.

He put himself first, appropriately named Fullsun. Then comes his dad (mom opted to not play), just named dad. Next comes Johnny, which, after a few moments of thought, would be known to the game as Dumbass. (He even changes to the English keyboard to give him the name.)

"I'm scared," Ten whispers to Johnny, just loud enough Donghyuck heard.

He becomes Timeless. A beautifully crafted pun, in his not-so-unbiased opinion. The Thai groans in annoyance, but Donghyuck moves on. Mark knows just about every nickname he could give him, so nothing would come as a shock to him.  _ Marley. _ "Wait, that's cute," Jaehyun says, ruffling Mark's hair.

Donghyuck, admittedly, knows nothing about Jaehyun. Just that he was a drama major in school and had good grades, just some bad habits, which he would not highlight or emphasize in his nickname for him. Jaehyun sees him struggling and offered his own suggestion.  _ Yoonoh.  _

It is a cute name, Donghyuck thinks. His mom offers to get pizza as he randomizes the order they would go, and the first game is set. Ten goes first, who bowls with perfect posture, which is on par for the dancing background to shine through. Although the position is only one battle, and after his ball hit the gutter, Ten is given a second chance.

Even while Johnny smirks, Ten knocks all of the pins on the second try. Donghyuck bowls after him, hitting a strike immediately. "Well look at you show off, brat."

Donghyuck shrugs, taking a seat in the booth, stealing his first slice of pizza out of presumably many, and watched the rest of his party bowl. Jaehyun is a quiet person, but he is the only other one to strike his first roll. He would be a nice competition, Donghyuck figures.

Mark guts both rolls, which got a roar of laughter out of Donghyuck. Salty, Mark sat down and shoved pizza into his mouth, grumbling about how the lane is rigged against him, even though the game clearly only just started.

Three turns in, and Donghyuck is ahead by a single pin. Jaehyun has yet to go, but he is proving to be really strong competition. Where Donghyuck is ahead, it is a strike on his end versus a nine pin and one left from Jaehyun. But Donghyuck messes up his roll, barely making a six-to-nine turn. If Jaehyun pulls a strike, he'd be ahead.

Donghyuck quite literally drops his pizza when Jaehyun scores a strike, giving him the lead. Mark cheers, giving Donghyuck a sly smirk. "What are ya gonna do, birthday boy?"

"Cry myself to sleep if he wins in the end, probably."

Jaehyun's face is priceless. Donghyuck wishes he could have recorded it, the way it contorted between laughter and genuine concern for Donghyuck's well-being. Mark steps in before Donghyuck can. "Don't worry, he's only being partially serious."

"I am being completely ridiculous."

"Johnny beat you in virtual bowling and you cried on the phone with me for two hours."

"In my defense, I was like, thirteen."

Jaehyun laughs, taking his seat next to Mark until he pulls the younger onto his lap. Mark seems less bothered by this abrupt change than Donghyuck would have. In fact, he seems to lean into the touch, almost cuddling him with their close vicinity. "You know yall will have turns soon, right?"

"Don't spoil my fun."

Jaehyun nods. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, looking around the building. There are lots of strangers, mostly gathered into small groups by each lane, taking turns and bowling with a varied level of experience. It is comedic, to see the crowd entranced in messing with each other to make them score less, or straight up doing bad because they didn't quite know how to play.

It is Donghyuck's turn again, and he finds that Jaehyun had changed to sit at the edge of the booth, where it would be easier for him to cuddle his boyfriend and also stand up to take his turn, when it comes. Donghyuck rolled the ball, and to his and possibly everyone's surprise, he only knocks down six pins.

"The champion is gonna be defeated on his own birthday!" Johnny calls out.

Donghyuck wouldn't have it.

So he rolls again.

Two.

He doesn’t even complete a spare. What a joke. Donghyuck groans, slumping back into the booth and, unlike his previous mood, he sulks. And sulks for the rest of the game, pulling consistent spares the rest of the scoreboard.

The crew goes through two entire boxes of pizza, and by the end of the game, Donghyuck comes in second, Jaehyun beating his score by only a spare. Yeah, Donghyuck is salty, but just seeing Mark so happy is enough to make him set aside his competitive, bruised ego, and stand on the sidelines while Jaehyun receives the celebratory slap on the back.

His mom leaves sometime during the fourth turn to get something, but she returns in time to gather the crew (who finish paying for the pizza and busied themselves returning their shoes and thanking the employees) and drive them home.

Donghyuck is tired, but he knows he needs to check his phone, because he surprisingly missed Jaemin the whole time he was with the others. But he decides that he would call him when he got home instead, setting his phone back in his lap as he leaned against the window.

"Today a good day?" Johnny asks.

"Very. Best eighteenth birthday that I had."

"It's the  _ only _ eighteenth birthday you've had."

"Exactly."

Getting back into the house, Donghyuck changes as quickly as he could and settles into his bed, where his fingertips shook, and he hesitated. What if Jaemin doesn’t want to talk? They just talked yesterday, after all. Donghyuck closes out of the phone app, opening the text messages instead.

Donghyuck 

11:31

hey, can we call tomorrow? im really tired.

Donghyuck presses send, throwing his phone halfway across his bed in a mix of fear and giddiness. Really, he isn’t sure why he is nervous to send such a text. He only asks if he could talk tomorrow, nothing more. Still, his heart flutters in anticipation for even the smallest reply back, and his skin felt warm—almost hot—to the touch.

His phone pings, and Donghyuck nearly jumps on the notification, fishing his phone from the end of his bed.

Jaemi

11:37

sure. sleep well. x

Donghyuck is stage three whipped.  _ x.  _ He smiles himself to sleep, thinking about Jaemin's soft voice, and the idea that they are going to just talk tomorrow.

★

Two weeks after his birthday, practice is an official bust. Jaemin has been visiting him during sessions every once in a while, when he isn’t wrapped up in his job or babysitting dogs for his neighbors, who are out on summer vacation. Donghyuck manages to jam his pinky finger from saving the ball, and Jaemin doesn’t stop complaining about the burn of his forearms, even though the ball barely even hit him. Donghyuck teaches Jaemin how to wrap fingers in tape, mostly because Johnny is running late and Ten refuses to wait any longer. Jaemin is still cautious, avoiding moving his pinky any more than he has to, hand shaking as he finishes off the tape. 

“Will your finger be fine?” Jaemin asks, “You don’t need to see the doctor or anything?”

Donghyuck shakes his head. “No need until it’s bleeding. It’s just jammed, and by tonight it’ll be unjammed. Come on, let’s go somewhere.”

“Any plans?”

“Out of here.”

With that, Jaemin drives them to his place, where he insists his parents weren’t home, and that they have the house (and fridge) to themselves for the next several hours. Donghyuck joins, partially because he had to, and partially because he is just excited to spend time with Jaemin in a place that is more private than the cafe.

He steps out of the car with Jaemin, letting himself be led by him. The house isn’t huge by any means, but it still feels like a home Jaemin would live in. When the front door opens, Donghyuck stares in awe at the interior design of the home. The colors are coordinated, the living room is white but not sterile, warm and the furniture looks worn in and purposeful. "You look like you've never seen interior decorating."

"My parents just threw in the furniture they had from before they got married. Our living room is a mess," Donghyuck replies. His finger throbs.

"Well, my bedroom is a mess. I don't have much in it, but nothing matches. My parents call it the 'nightmare child'."

"Why?"

"They're interior designers, so my room used to look all nice and organized, until I started getting swim trophies."

"You're a swimmer?" Donghyuck asks, wide eyed in excitement.

" _ Was. _ I haven't swam in years."

"Why not?"

"It was something my parents asked me to do, so I just did it for them."

Jaemin turns the knob of the door, swinging it open. Inside, it is a lengthy room, larger than its width for sure. The hard wood is coated with an old sealant that certainly seems scratched, and the windows are propped open to allow for the outside cooler weather to insulate the room.

His curtains are likely black out, but thin enough to be swayed by the wind. In the corner is a bookshelf fill with achievements and trophies, not just from swimming but some other activity. When he looks closer, he sees the debate terminology he recalls from taking a class only a semester. "Debate?"

"I wanted to do something else. Not just… be a simpleton who simply listened to his parents. So I signed up for debate four years ago without their knowledge and got about a year into it before they wouldn't take my teacher's signature as a guardian slip. They were so mad when they found out."

Donghyuck nods to show that he is, in fact, listening, despite being distracted by the pretty array of polaroids clothespinned up on a string on one of the shorter walls. And with closer inspection, he finds them to be of Jaemin and his friends, with a few landscape sceneries sprinkled in. "They tried to take me out of it, you know. But… my teacher told them to give me a chance."

"And they did?"

"I won districts that year. And the next I went all the way to nationals. They were proud of me, but still disappointed that I never told them."

Jaemin sits down on his bed, springs wheezing with his weight and sheets curling inwards around his butt, no longer neat like they were. "You never told me you were in debate."

"Eh, it never was brought up."

Donghyuck sits next to Jaemin, looking at him. "Debate seems like a fun thing to do, is it?"

"Getting to do different styles of arguing and having people judge you on a wide range of things? It is fun," Jaemin smiles. "I really loved swimming, at first."

"Why don't you go back to that?"

"I think I lost my love for it when it became competitive."

"Competition ruins love, doesn't it?"

Jaemin shrugged. "Sure."

The silence isn’t suffocating, but certainly isn’t comfortable. Jaemin pulls a few game controllers from his nightstand drawer, offering one to Donghyuck. "Wanna play a few games?" Jaemin asks.

"Sure."

Donghyuck takes the controller, and the two of them changes into a more comfortable position, only a few inches apart from cuddling. Jaemin has a wide variety of games, offering the first choice to Donghyuck, who chose a simple platformer game, which he is confident he could beat Jaemin in.

They play for a few games, even a few levels. Donghyuck is succeeding in a higher score than him, and Jaemin only seems more competitive. It is fun.

"Wait come on, let me win!"

"Why?"

"Because I won't give you food."

"That's mean!" Donghyuck throws his controller into his lap, turning to face Jaemin. He puts on his best pout. "Is this how you treat all of your guests?"

Jaemin hums, pausing the game he is on. "Not really. Just how I treat you."

Donghyuck whines. "What makes me so different?"

"Simple. You're Donghyuck." Jaemin reaches out, booping his nose. "And since you're Donghyuck, you're different."

"Why?"

Donghyuck is subtly aware of the atmosphere that grows around them, the way his mind run a million thoughts a second, how he couldn't seem to control his breathing, no matter how hard he tries. Jaemin seems to be affected as well, how his lips parts subtly, quietly breathing through the gap. 

Donghyuck wants to pull away, in all honesty. He is suffocating, but for some reason the softness of suffocating on what smells like decaf (Jaemin changed his coffee regimen, per Donghyuck's request) makes him want to be closer.

And then, he is as close as he could get, a mere few centimeters from Jaemin. His star shaped freckles blur into one faded honey blush, disguised by the rosiness of the cheeks they laid on. Donghyuck's hand move to balance himself on Jaemin's thigh, who doesn’t stop him.

Donghyuck has kissed someone before. A few times, hidden in the bathrooms of the school, away from sight and out of mind when it ended. A couple times it had been a dare, something he knew he didn't want in the back of his mind. Others are secrets he wouldn't share with anyone, hidden away and forgotten about by his conscious.

Jaemin is softer than the others. His lips mold against Donghyuck's, pliant to the pressure of kissing. When he at first doesn’t react, Donghyuck moves to pull away, except Jaemin pulls him closer.

They kiss again, stronger than the last, with the same amount of feeling as the first. Jaemin's nose brushes against Donghyuck's cheek, but he doesn’t mind. Not anymore, at least. Jaemin's lips still retain the smallest hint of coffee, along with the hint of chapstick.

Donghyuck doesn’t want to pull away, but he does. And when he does, he sees Jaemin looking at him, confused but happy all the same. He is suffocating— maybe on the scent of decaf and peach scented chapstick— but it is a good kind of suffocation, and Donghyuck would be happy to suffocate again. Or maybe he is drowning in his own rush of emotions that he only desperately wants to hold back.

But he is terrified of finding when the suffocation is too much, or when his lungs fill with too much liquid and the oxygen has no space to be, where he couldn't take it anymore.

Donghyuck wants to run away. 

So, he runs.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my wonderful betas, they're so sweet and I love them. Also, follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/_deerlynx)!


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